What SBA's own loan files show about lending in the Raleigh-Cary, NC Metro Area, every asset class together, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.
Raleigh-Cary, NC holds rank 47 of 928 by loans, with 2,502 approvals for FY2017 to FY2026, $1.56 billion gross. Ticket size in Raleigh leans high, with $304,500 at the median, 1.46x the national median. The middle half of Raleigh approvals runs from $105,000 up to $708,100. In Raleigh, a request far outside $105,000 to $708,100 will draw questions. The Raleigh study should answer them early in Raleigh.
In Raleigh, SBA 7(a) accounts for 2,365 loans, against 137 under SBA 504. 27.2% of the Raleigh loans went to franchised businesses. Raleigh named classes stand full-service restaurant with 141, limited-service restaurant with 118 and fitness center with 104. The Raleigh total of 2,502 also contains 1,698 loans that no named class captures in Raleigh. By project county, Raleigh loans fall in Wake County, NC with 2,220, Johnston County, NC with 215 and Franklin County, NC with 67 in Raleigh.
In Raleigh, these tables draw on SBA's records in Raleigh of loans a lender carries or carried in Raleigh, as current holder, and say nothing of lender standards. Raleigh holders should be read that way. Raleigh SBA 7(a) holders in Raleigh at the top in Raleigh: Wells Fargo Bank National Association with 219 loans worth $43.2 million; The Huntington National Bank with 171 loans worth $61.1 million in Raleigh; Live Oak Banking Company with 114 loans worth $139.6 million. In Raleigh, SBA 504 holders are led by Business Expansion Funding Corporation with 112 loans worth $115.3 million; Carolina Business Capital, Inc. with 11 loans worth $18.2 million. In Raleigh, concentration among top holders says little. A Raleigh study should stand on evidence alone in Raleigh.
Among FY2017 to FY2024 approvals, Raleigh cancellation after approval is 13.2% in Raleigh, a floor. A Raleigh ceiling of 14.2% treats unfunded loans as cancelled. Raleigh charge-offs to date, a floor, run 6.5% for the 955 loans disbursed from FY2017 to FY2021 in Raleigh; 3.4% came within five years. FY2025, at 360 loans, tops the printed yearly counts for Raleigh. Boundaries for Raleigh come from that county as SBA records it against the July 2023 delineation, so that loan with an unmatched county stays out of every area. The 2,502 loans in Raleigh-Cary, NC include those in Raleigh with no named class.
The Raleigh test begins with demand. Study the market around the actual site in Raleigh, not the metropolitan area in Raleigh, and let a weak first year pass in Raleigh. After demand, Raleigh cost. Tickets cluster near $304,500 at the median, but the budget needs local bids, including a reserve for slow Raleigh months. The Raleigh loan has to be serviceable. Show coverage at the requested loan then in a stress case, so the margin in Raleigh of safety shows in Raleigh. Appraisal closes the loop in Raleigh, so the study's own comparables should be verifiable in Raleigh. In Raleigh, 2,502 loans spread over many neighbourhoods, and a Raleigh study must say which it targets. With Raleigh at 1.46x the national median in Raleigh, projects run large in Raleigh. The study must justify its project for Raleigh against $304,500.
| Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026 | 2,502 |
|---|---|
| Gross dollars approved | $1.56 billion |
| Median loan | $304,500 |
| Middle half of loans, from | $105,000 |
| Middle half of loans, to | $708,100 |
| SBA 7(a) loans | 2,365 |
| SBA 504 loans | 137 |
| Franchise share of loans | 27.2% |
| Rank among metro and micro areas by loans | 47 of 928 |
| Median loan against the national median | 1.46x |
| Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor) | 13.2% |
|---|---|
| The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling) | 14.2% |
| Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor) | 6.5% |
| Charged off within five years of approval | 3.4% |
| Loans in that cohort | 955 |
Both rates are floors. SBA withholds the status of open loans, so a loan counts as charged off only once SBA reports it; a rate needs at least 30 loans in its cohort and is otherwise not reported.
SBA loans approved in the Raleigh-Cary, NC Metro Area, by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 264 | $147.8 million |
| FY2018 | 225 | $128.5 million |
| FY2019 | 216 | $107.8 million |
| FY2020 | 191 | $141.1 million |
| FY2021 | 209 | $167.5 million |
| FY2022 | 187 | $129.6 million |
| FY2023 | 248 | $132.7 million |
| FY2024 | 321 | $185.6 million |
| FY2025 | 360 | $212.4 million |
| FY2026 | 281 | $210.0 million |
| Asset class | Loans |
|---|---|
| Not in any of the 39 asset classes | 1,698 |
| Full-service restaurant | 141 |
| Limited-service restaurant | 118 |
| Fitness center | 104 |
| Child care center | 79 |
| Coffee shop and snack bar | 57 |
| Beauty salon | 54 |
| Automotive mechanical repair (car and truck) | 38 |
| Hotel and motel | 35 |
| Dental office | 22 |
| Assisted living (without nursing care) | 20 |
| Beverage manufacturing (breweries, wineries, distilleries) | 19 |
| Medical office (physicians) | 17 |
| Rehabilitation and therapy clinic | 11 |
| Gas station and truck stop | 10 |
| Grocery store | 9 |
| Veterinary clinic | 8 |
| Behavioral health and addiction treatment | 8 |
| Caterers (includes banquet halls with catering staff) | 8 |
| School (elementary and secondary, including charter) | 7 |
| Data center | 7 |
| Liquor store | 7 |
| Car wash | 5 |
| Self storage | 5 |
| Nonresidential lessor (flex, office and retail investor buildings) | 5 |
Classes with 5 or more loans; smaller ones are withheld, and more where a small one could be derived.
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Business Expansion Funding Corporation | 112 | $115.3 million |
| Carolina Business Capital, Inc. | 11 | $18.2 million |
| 504 Capital Corporation | 9 | $14.1 million |
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Wells Fargo Bank National Association | 219 | $43.2 million |
| The Huntington National Bank | 171 | $61.1 million |
| Live Oak Banking Company | 114 | $139.6 million |
| Northeast Bank (ME) | 101 | $17.0 million |
| First National Bank of Pennsylvania | 89 | $76.5 million |
Lenders with 5 or more loans here; a lender with fewer is not listed, and loans SBA or a receiver holds are counted but never listed as a lender.
| County | Loans |
|---|---|
| Wake County, NC | 2,220 |
| Johnston County, NC | 215 |
| Franklin County, NC | 67 |
Counties with 5 or more loans; smaller ones are not listed.
Metro is the CBSA (metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area) of the loan's project county, July 2023 delineation (OMB Bulletin 23-01). The county is matched by name (manifests/ld2/county-cbsa-map.csv); a loan whose county cannot be placed in a 2023 CBSA is left out of every metro.
All assets: every 7(a) and 504 approval in the metro, including those outside the 39 asset classes.
A value marked withheld rests on fewer than 5 loans, or is withheld so that such a figure cannot be derived from other published figures.
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) and 504 loan-level FOIA files (data.sba.gov), as of 2026-09-30; areas from the U.S. Census Bureau CBSA delineation, July 2023 (OMB Bulletin 23-01); Loan Analytics metro cell MT-39580.
A worked example of the feasibility study a lender would read for a hotel project in North Carolina, financed with a conventional bank loan.
Loan Analytics prepares the feasibility study a lender reads before it commits: for a commercial project in the Raleigh-Cary, NC Metro Area, financed under SBA 7(a), SBA 504, USDA Business and Industry or a conventional bank loan. Tell us the project and the lender's deadline, and we reply with scope, timeline and fee.
Start with the data.
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